When participating in Meals From the Heart program volunteers are able to give back by crafting a meal for family members who have children in the hospital. These family members, being under a lot of stress, don’t have to worry about preparing a meal for themselves and can take a night to relax.

The team made both a chicken and vegetarian enchilada casserole, as well as a salad. Brad’s Deals editor Chris Rucks explains the experience by stating that, “providing a comforting meal to people that desperately want some normalcy was a pleasure”.

]]>http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2018/02/02/brads-deals-makes-home-cooked-meals-from-the-heart-for-ronald-mcdonald-house-families/feed/0Brad’s Deals Wins an Optimas Award for 2017http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/12/20/optimas-award-winner-2017/
http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/12/20/optimas-award-winner-2017/#respondWed, 20 Dec 2017 21:07:52 +0000http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/?p=2965Workforce has named Brad’s Deals an Optimas Award winner for 2017. This is the second time that Brad’s Deals has won an Optimas Award, the first coming in 2014.

The Optimas Awards seek to recognize organizations that tackle the biggest issues facing business through innovative and strategic people management. Brad’s Deals’s efforts to encourage and support women in tech spaces through its one of a kind Women’s Tech Accelerator earned the company an Optimas Silver Award for Vision. As accelerator participants, female-led businesses can grow their businesses alongside Brad’s Deals employees where they have access to mentoring from team members, along with conference and event space, internet access, and other office perks.

“We set out to create our Women Tech Accelerator to make a positive difference in the gender disparity we see in the tech field,” said Jessica Adams, Vice President of Human Resources at Brad’s Deals. “Our goal was to help these women led tech businesses grow and scale more quickly. We found that not only were we able to make that positive impact with these organizations, but it also increased awareness about our organization with people with diverse backgrounds and was a way to give back to the community in a way that our employees truly value. To now be recognized by the Workforce Optimas awards is a tremendous honor. And to win the Vision category is continued validation that what we are doing matters and is making a difference in the diverse community we see in Chicago.”

In addition to hosting its second accelerator cohort, Brad’s Deals also has a workforce that is more than 50% female, with women comprising 69% of management and 66% of senior leadership.

]]>http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/12/20/optimas-award-winner-2017/feed/0Brad’s Deals’ Devotion to Women in Tech Wins Recognition at the 2017 Timmy Awards in Chicagohttp://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/10/06/bradsdeals-best-tech-workplace-for-diversity-timmy-awards/
http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/10/06/bradsdeals-best-tech-workplace-for-diversity-timmy-awards/#respondFri, 06 Oct 2017 16:03:10 +0000http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/?p=2957Tech in Motion publicly recognized Brad’s Deals commitment to diversity, naming the company First Runner-Up in the Best Tech Workplace for Diversity category at the 2017 Timmy Awards, held at 1871 on September 21, 2017.

Event co-organizer Maeve Cloherty told the assembled crowd that more than 390 Chicago tech companies applied for four awards that included Best Tech Startup, Best Tech Work Culture, Best Tech Workplace for Diversity, and Best Tech Manager. Each category was narrowed to ten finalists before opening to public voting, which accounted for half of each company’s vote total.

Brad’s Deals application focused on its gender diversity, noting that the company is more than 56% women, 69% of management, 66% of senior leadership, and 50% of the executive leadership team. The company also launched its Women’s Tech Accelerator in 2016 and recently kicked off its second cohort, thereby extending its commitment to encouraging women in tech into the greater Chicago community.

“We were thrilled to receive runner-up in the Timmy Awards for workplace diversity,” said Jessica Adams, Vice President of People, Brad’s Deals. “Not only are we incredibly proud of our team here at Brad’s Deals and the Women’s Tech Accelerator that we started, but we had some pretty stiff competition from organizations like 1871, Avant, Thoughtworks and Codify’d as well as others. These awards are a great way to recognize and celebrate our differences and keep challenging us to do better and better things as it relates to diversity.”

If you’re interested in working at one of Chicago’s best tech companies for diversity, you can check out open positions at Careers at Brad’s Deals.

]]>http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/10/06/bradsdeals-best-tech-workplace-for-diversity-timmy-awards/feed/0Brad’s Deals Welcomes Three New Female-Led Companies to Its Women’s Tech Acceleratorhttp://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/10/04/brads-deals-welcomes-three-new-female-led-companies-to-its-womens-tech-accelerator/
http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/10/04/brads-deals-welcomes-three-new-female-led-companies-to-its-womens-tech-accelerator/#respondWed, 04 Oct 2017 18:14:42 +0000http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/?p=2948Brad’s Deals is pleased to introduce the 2017 cohort of the Women’s Tech Accelerator, a one-of-a-kind program that aims to remove some of the obstacles that keep female-led tech startups from getting their businesses off the ground. For six months, the three participating startups receive free desk and meeting space in Shop Smart’s offices in Chicago’s River North neighborhood and mentorship from team members on topics ranging from web development to marketing and finance.

Businesses in the 2017 cohort include thriveosity, Noirefy, and Book+Main.

Noirefy

Shaniqua (Shawn) Davis launched the job referral website Noirefy in June of 2016, with a mission to connect qualified job seekers of color with top tier companies. As someone who had experienced discrimination based on her name alone, she put her digital marketing and technology skills to work building a network to connect those individuals with jobs that promote diverse workplaces and cultures.

The Detroit native’s eye for detail spans beyond the norms of conventional digital relations. Davis learned early on to use innovative techniques to gain both experience and significant opportunities for advancement, skills that came into play while relocating to Chicago to work in the competitive marketing industry, building contacts before deciding to leave the field and pursue entrepreneurship full time.

thriveosity

Realizing that both patients and caregivers often struggle to meet needs that went beyond medical care, Dr. Ritu Trivedi-Purohit, PsyD, was inspired to make the lives of those impacted by cancer more manageable.

Thriveosity care packages are full of items to meet cancer patients’ support needs beyond medical care including nutrition, cognition, skin-care, aromatherapy – along with some comfort items and other essentials – delivered to the patient’s doorstep. Dr. Ritu, a clinical psychologist, describes her business as “a social enterprise focused on improving the health and wellbeing of patients and caregivers through an innovative approach.”

Since launching thriveosity, Dr. Ritu Trivedi-Purohit has received requests for care packages for other chronic populations such as diabetes, cardiac, surgical centers, and even from employee benefits administrators looking for better ways to support employees.

“Compassionate care is not a luxury, it is a necessity – and we are thrilled to lead the way to better care for all.”

Book+Main

Since the advent of modern-day self-publishing, the book world has dramatically shifted. Add to that the world of social media, and the ways in which readers find books and connect with authors has never been more exciting. To capture the incredible energy and possibility within the book world, Book+Main is creating new ways for authors and readers to connect.

“The opportunity to work within the Brad’s Deals offices and tap into the knowledge and expertise of their incredible team could not have come at a more valuable time,” said Tracey Suppo, CEO and co-founder of Book+Main, which works both with debut authors and New York Times bestsellers.

Tracey, a life-long reader, discovered the indie book world in 2015, and went on to launch a successful blog and reader group totaling more than 12,000 readers and authors. Combining her 20+ year marketing background, her love of technology and her passion for reading, she and her partners have created Book+Main to build an online presence where the book world comes to connect.

]]>http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/10/04/brads-deals-welcomes-three-new-female-led-companies-to-its-womens-tech-accelerator/feed/0Vote Now for Brad’s Deals in the 3rd Annual Timmy Awards!http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/08/25/best-chicago-tech-workplace-for-diversity-timmy-awards-2017/
http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/08/25/best-chicago-tech-workplace-for-diversity-timmy-awards-2017/#respondFri, 25 Aug 2017 16:34:56 +0000http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/?p=2928Tech In Motion has named Brad’s Deals one of Chicago’s Best Technology Workplaces for Diversity for the company’s efforts to help cultivate female tech talent. The Timmy Awards recognize the top workplaces for tech professionals in major cities across the country.

“The Timmy Awards aim to celebrate the companies and managers that make that technological innovation possible,” says Mandy Walker, Director of Marketing at Tech in Motion and Motion Recruitment Partners. “Since the Timmy Awards were created in 2015, over 400 finalists have been celebrated for creating work environments that enable growth in the technology of various industries.”

At Brad’s Deals, women comprise 50% of the executive leadership team, 66% of senior leadership, 69% of management, and 56% of all employees. Family-friendly perks like flexible scheduling and the ability to work remotely accommodates team members’ needs and lifestyles. The 16 year old company also works to support and encourage women in the broader Chicago tech community, establishing a Women’s Tech Accelerator in-house and hosting and collaborating with groups such as Girl Develop It and RailsBridge.

“Brad’s Deals is thrilled and honored to be nominated for the Timmy Awards and their new Best Tech Culture Workforce Diversity category,” said Jessica Adams, Vice President of Human Resources at Brad’s Deals.

“When we started our Women Tech Accelerator it was to not only to do our small part to help WISTEM initiatives, but to also give our team, that is so diverse and dedicated to this cause, the chance to give back as well. Our team has been incredibly invested in the people in our accelerator and this recognition is further proof that what we are doing makes a difference. Our newest accelerator cohort just started and along with this nomination, is continued motivation for us to keep taking the time to help these organizations run, grow and transform and internally, to ensure that we are building an organization that is diverse and having fun, so we can continue to provide the best and most creative products to our users.”

Voting is open to the public, with individual voters allowed one vote per day until September 8, 2017. Timmy Award winners are determined by a 50/50 combination of votes from the community and a panel of expert judges.

]]>http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/08/25/best-chicago-tech-workplace-for-diversity-timmy-awards-2017/feed/0Workforce Names Brad’s Deals as a 2017 Optimas Awards Finalisthttp://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/07/19/workforce-names-brads-deals-as-a-2017-optimas-awards-finalist/
http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/07/19/workforce-names-brads-deals-as-a-2017-optimas-awards-finalist/#respondWed, 19 Jul 2017 15:24:41 +0000http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/?p=2921Brad’s Deals has been named a Finalist for the 2017 Workforce Optimas Awards and is once again being acknowledged as one of the organizations “reshaping people management strategies around the globe.” Workforce’s Optimas Award, an award that celebrates HR’s innovation and business problem solving, is now in it’s 27th year. In 2014 Brad’s Deals was an Optimas Award Silver Winner for recruiting.

The Women’s Tech Accelerator, a program that addresses the unique challenges of being a women in tech, has been a powerful factor in recruiting at Brad’s Deals. The program embraces women-owned businesses providing them with a collaborative and supportive environment in order to thrive. 1/3 of candidates that have selected Brad’s Deals as a company to apply to say it was a major factor in their decision to apply, the other 1/3 share that it helps to paint a strong picture of the type of culture Brad’s Deals fosters, and the last 1/3 who have learned about it on the screening call often provide positive feedback.

“We are thrilled to see Workforce Magazine pick our work on the Brad’s Deals Women Tech Accelerator as an Optimas Award finalist, ” said Jessica Adams, Vice President of Human Resources at Brad’s Deals. “Our team is committed to helping our women entrepreneurs grow their businesses and it has been incredible to see the positive effects it has had on our recruiting efforts and internal growth due to the support we are providing to the local community.”

]]>http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/07/19/workforce-names-brads-deals-as-a-2017-optimas-awards-finalist/feed/0Bring Your Kids to Work Day at Brad’s Dealshttp://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/06/28/bring-your-kids-to-work-day-at-brads-deals/
http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/06/28/bring-your-kids-to-work-day-at-brads-deals/#respondWed, 28 Jun 2017 19:33:53 +0000http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/?p=2915Last week, Brad’s Deals hosted their annual bring your kids to work day on June 19, 2017 where 22 kids had fun partaking in activities while being with their parent at work. Kids, ranging in age from 21 months to 15 years old, were encouraged to be a superhero for the day.

Brad’s Deals’ HR Intern Hannah Blakey was in charge of planning the day, and with such a wide range of ages one of her main focuses was making sure that there were things every age group would enjoy. “Bring your kids to work day was extremely fun and exciting,” said Hannah. “The kids all were smiling and now think that their parent has the coolest job ever!”

The day started off with the kids creating their own capes, badges, and masks which encouraged fun and laughter in the office with kids running around pretending to be their favorite superhero. As the day went on there was face painting, crafts, and the kids even got to create their own comic book story. One of the kids favorite activities were playing games toward the end of the day because they were able to compete with one another and win little prizes.

The day came and went relatively fast due to all of the fun, and the kids can not wait to come to Brad’s Deals again next year.

]]>http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/06/28/bring-your-kids-to-work-day-at-brads-deals/feed/0Brad’s Deals Now Accepting Applications for the 2017-18 Women’s Tech Accelerator!http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/06/15/brads-deals-now-accepting-applications-for-the-2017-18-womens-tech-accelerator/
http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/06/15/brads-deals-now-accepting-applications-for-the-2017-18-womens-tech-accelerator/#respondThu, 15 Jun 2017 19:13:59 +0000http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/?p=2906For the second year in a row, the shopping experts here at Brad’s Deals are opening their doors to help some Chicago-based, female-led startups get their footing in the tech world.

The Women’s Tech Accelerator at Brad’s Deals is unique in the accelerator world, as it bridges the gap between traditional startup accelerators and co-working spaces. While most accelerators and incubators take an equity stake in the businesses they’re mentoring, Brad’s Deals provides resources instead of funds. In an industry where women are still vastly outnumbered by men, it’s one way the company seeks to remove barriers that keep female entrepreneurs from getting their ideas off the ground.

In addition to sharing tangible resources like office space, phone, broadband, and meeting rooms, participants also have access to Brad’s Deals’ in-house experts on subjects ranging from web and app development to accounting and finance.

“As a first-time business owner and founder, you aren’t going to know everything, so it’s really great to be able to tap into the knowledge of all Brad’s Deals’ subject matter experts,” said Jasmine Shells, a member of the inaugural Women’s Tech Accelerator cohort and founder and CEO of Five to Nine, a social club for millennial professionals. “I was really surprised at just how open the people in the office were to helping us. I know everyone here is extremely busy building this company. Brad’s Deals is also a start up, so I know everyone who works here has a ton of work on their plate. But every time I’ve asked anyone for help, the answer has always been yes.”

This program was created to combat the lack of gender diversity in the tech world. While women make up more than half of the national workforce, only 30 percent of tech workers identify as female, and women working in STEM fields are 45 percent more likely than their male peers to leave the industry within their first year. With a staff that’s more than 50 percent female, Brad’s Deals is an outlier in its field, and is committed to empowering a new generation of women-led businesses to flourish.

In its first year, the Women’s Tech Accelerator has helped three very different female-led companies flourish and grow, and the team at Brad’s Deals is excited to open their office to a new wave of female entrepreneurs.

]]>http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/06/15/brads-deals-now-accepting-applications-for-the-2017-18-womens-tech-accelerator/feed/0Our Women’s Tech Accelerator Participants Tell Us What The Program Has Meant For Their Businesseshttp://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/05/24/our-womens-tech-accelerator-participants-on-what-the-program-has-meant-for-their-businesses/
http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/05/24/our-womens-tech-accelerator-participants-on-what-the-program-has-meant-for-their-businesses/#respondWed, 24 May 2017 20:56:49 +0000http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/?p=2890Applications for our next Women’s Tech Accelerator cohort open on June 15, and everyone here at Brad’s Deals is excited to welcome a new crop of female entrepreneurs into our office! The only downside? This means saying goodbye to our fantastic inaugural cohort, an amazing group of women whose businesses have grown and flourished since they joined our team last fall.

We sat down with two of them, Jasmine Shells of Five to Nine and Tatyana Shestopalova of GiftOn, to get their thoughts on the program, their favorite parts of hanging out in our office, and their best advice to the incoming group of entrepreneurs.

How has participating in the Women’s Tech Accelerator helped your business?

Jasmine Shells: One thing our business really needed was a home. Our team was super fragmented, and it was hard to find one location where we could all be together. We were really missing a place to sit, brainstorm and strategize. Brad’s Deals has been that for us. It’s added a lot of legitimacy to our business – now we actually have a home base!

Another thing that’s been really helpful has been the ability for us to get individual, one-off questions answered. As a first-time business owner and founder, you aren’t going to know everything, so it’s really great to be able to tap into the knowledge of all Brad’s Deals’ subject matter experts. The ability to set up meetings with people, to be able to say hey, do you have 10 minutes to help me with this? Everyone has been super open and flexible!

Tatyana Shestopalova: Before I started this program, I had no product in market and zero revenue. Now, the GiftOn beta site is out and open to the public, we have active users and we brought on our first paying customer. The difference speaks for itself!

What surprised you most about this program?

Jasmine Shells: I was really surprised at just how open the people in the office were to helping us. I know everyone here is extremely busy building this company. Brad’s Deals is also a start up, so I know everyone who works here has a ton of work on their plate. But every time I’ve asked anyone for help, the answer has always been yes.

One time I was in the kitchen, and all the developers were hanging out there. I mentioned to them that I never asked their team for help because I’m a non-technical person, and I thought the things I needed from them were too small and stupid. I need help, like, changing something on my website from red to blue. I thought asking them for help would be a waste of their time. But they were like no! We’d love to help. It’s just great to be able to get support for things I’d considered to be too small or stupid to ask. I love how willing everyone on this team is to help me out.

Tatyana Shestopalova: I was surprised by the structure of the program. Whenever I needed help with something, I would ask someone at Brad’s Deals who was a subject matter expert to come help me with my problem. As a result, all the help I received was 100 percent tailored to my specific needs. I wish more accelerators could implement this structure, it’s incredibly efficient and effective. Plus, it’s great for the people actually providing the help because they can see their expertise making a real impact.

What’s your favorite part of the Brad’s Deals office?

Jasmine Shells: The hoverboards. Definitely the hoverboards and the beer. When you put the two together and get to drink beer ON a hoverboard, that’s magic. I have perfected it to an art. I couldn’t ride a hoverboard before I got here and now I’m a pro.

Tatyana Shestopalova: The hoverboards! Either that, or the large common area. It’s prefect for events, and Brad’s Deals is incredibly generous in how often they donate the space for events hosed by various groups and meet-ups in the Chicago community. It’s where I threw the GiftOn soft launch party!

Is there a particular team member or department that’s been especially helpful to you?

Jasmine Shells: Yeah, definitely content, marketing and SEO. That whole team I definitely tap on the most for stuff. Our business thrives on being able to translate our message to a wider audience. We need to convey what we’re doing in a clear and concise manner. Something might make sense to us, but if it doesn’t make sense to our audience it’s worthless. I’ve noticed that our business has done a lot better since we’ve had the resources on hand to help us craft our brand story in a better way.

Tatyana Shestopalova: My team and I started this program while we were in the early stages of coding the GiftOn beta site, and the entire Brad’s Deals tech team has been so helpful. The data team reviewed my database structure to make sure it was efficient, the developers helped me debug more times than I can count, the UX team helped me organize information on the front-end, and the dev ops team helped me get everything up and running in the AWS cloud. I am proud of the GiftOn site, and I know that it would not be as amazing as it is today without the help we received from Brad’s Deals.

Do you have a favorite memory or moment from this program you’d like to share with potential applicants?

Jasmine Shells: I have a few! I love all the parties you guys throw, it’s great to be included in that and to see just how familial a workplace this is. I love watching everyone have a good time. As a business that’s really event-heavy, it’s been great to be able to use the Brad’s Deals space to host parties of our own. I loved hosting the Business Casual experience here. It was so cool seeing the Brad’s Deals team partying alongside my team, it really felt like a true marriage of our two brands. It meant a lot to be able to host our community here.

Do you have any advice that you’d like to offer the next Women in Tech cohort?

Jasmine Shells: I would really encourage them to think about the key areas that they know their business needs the most development in. Find the people here who are experts in those areas and just get everything that you can from them. Sit down with them, learn from them. Knowing what you need help with is so important, and I’ve found everyone here to be really happy to help me out!

Tatyana Shestopalova: There are so many wonderful people at Brad’s Deals who want to volunteer their time to help you build your business. My advice would be to utilize them whenever possible, whether it’s asking a Brad’s Deals team member to review marketing materials, sit in on a user experience meeting, or participate in strategy and planning meetings. They are true experts in their fields, and the level of help you receive is entirely dependent on how often you actually ask for help.

Are you a female entrepreneur with a crazy-cool business idea that just needs a little space and support to blossom? Let us help! Applications for our next Women’s Tech Accelerator cohort will be open from June 15 to July 15, 2017. Check out our FAQ page for all the information you’ll need to apply.

]]>http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/05/24/our-womens-tech-accelerator-participants-on-what-the-program-has-meant-for-their-businesses/feed/0International Women’s Day at Brad’s Dealshttp://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/03/08/international-womens-day-at-brads-deals/
http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/2017/03/08/international-womens-day-at-brads-deals/#respondWed, 08 Mar 2017 22:09:57 +0000http://www.bradsdeals.com/about-us/?p=2831When we looked around the office today, we realized that a good number of the ladies – and a few of the men, too – were wearing red for International Women’s Day. So of course, we got together for a photo.

Red shirts and cheesy sorority poses aside, supporting women in tech is serious business for us.

Our leadership team is more than 50% female.

We’ve sponsored coding programs like RailsBridge Chicago, which introduces women to Ruby on Rails in an all-female, nonjudgmental environment.

And last year, we launched the first cohort of our Women’s Tech Accelerator in our Chicago office. (One of our entrepreneurs, Tatyana Shestopalova of GiftOn, is second from the left in our photo.)

We couldn’t run Brad’s Deals without women, and we’re proud to support and encourage women in tech.